Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Widow
by MJ-McSpankerson
Summary: *PotC* What would happen if Jack Sparrow came across a ship identical in every way to the Black Pearl? (bad bad summary lol)
1. Un

Jack Sparrow, oops, erm, *Captain* Jack Sparrow, sailed along the ocean. Finally, he had his Pearl back. And his crew had been great. Even though he was still a little disgusted every time Cotton opened his mouth, but he dealt with it like a man... And looked away. Every man, and Anamaria, held their weight. They were all like a family. He took a swig of rum and patted the hat on his head. Everything was going his way. In the distance, there was an island. He recognized the island, he had sailed by it before. But it was different this time. Usually, the island was unoccupied. Just a pile of sand and trees. But now, there was a boat just off shore. People surrounded the boat, it looked as if they were fixing it. Patching it up or something of the sort. They must have had a problem. Usually, he would have sailed on and minded his own business, but something about this ship caught his eye. She looked just like The Black Pearl. She was almost identical to her. Everything down to the black sails.  
  
"Weigh anchor!" Jack slurred drunkenly. "We 'afta see what's wrong with the Pearl!"  
  
The crew looked at him in confusion, "Uh... Cap'n, we're on the Pearl." Gibbs stated.  
  
Jack squinted his eyes towards the ship in the distance, "No, there she is there. On the island. We 'afta see what's wrong with *that* Pearl."  
  
Gibbs looked towards the island and was shocked to see that Jack hadn't lost his mind. There actually *was* a ship there. And she actually *did* look like the Pearl. He nodded at the Captain and got the crew to stop the immense ship. When she had stopped, Sparrow, Gibbs, Anamaria, Cotton and several other crew mates got into one of the small boats and sailed to the shore. They saw several men working on patching up the sides of a ship that looked like she was modeled off the Pearl herself. The men working were under the watch of another man. An older man.  
  
" He must be the Captain of her." Gibbs guessed. A few men nodded and agreed.  
  
Their arrival had not gone unnoticed by man, nor by his crew. The man approached the Pearls crew cautiously, but not timidly. He had an air of confidence about him that most would not have around Captain Jack Sparrow et al. "Is there something I can help you with?" he demanded.  
  
"Name your ship, sailor!" Jack ordered, much to the surprise of the man.  
  
"Name yourself or taste steel." The older man said, unsheathing his sword.  
  
"You don't know who I am?" Jack said in arrogant disbelief.  
  
"Nor do I care if you don't have my question answered in the next minute." the man was very English. He didn't sound like he had been living on a ship for years, more like he had been sipping tea with royalty.  
  
"Relax, mate. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Of the Black Pearl. Who I thought to be the one and only." Jack answered  
  
The man kept his sword drawn and looked out at the other mans ship. Indeed, she did look like his, even the name was close, but not the same. "I see. Yes, the ships are similar, but not the same. I am Anthony Gillis. And that," he pointed at his ship with his sword, "Is the Black Widow."  
  
"Black Widow, eh? Well, Captain, she's a lovely ship. Has this widow lots of rum?" Jack casually slurred.  
  
Anthony looked at the Pearls Captian like he was insane, "Uh, yes, she has rum. But I am not her Captain. I would have proudly said so. No, I am the father of the Captain. Just here to help out."  
  
For the first time, Jack looked at the mans wrist. No mark. He looked in the mans eyes, he wasn't a pirate. Jack nodded, "Alright, sailor, what is the problem with the Widow?"  
  
"Well, Mr. Sparrow, she-"  
  
"Captain!" Jack corrected.  
  
"Right.. of course.. Captain Sparrow, she met with a storm and wound up here. Weeks ago. We haven't the tools we need to patch her up, though we try." Anthony said sadly.  
  
Jack nodded, "Well, sailor, at least you have rum!"  
  
Anthony nodded at the Captains attempt to cheer him up, "Right, that's good. At least we won't be sober when we starve to death." he angrily replied.  
  
"Exactly! Now, take my to your Captain. Perhaps we can strike a bargain and I can take you to shore." Jack looked around for the Captain. "Where is your son?"  
  
Anthony Gillis smirked as he watched the foolish man look around for the Captain. He put his sword away and motioned for the group to follow him, "You misunderstood, Captain. I haven't a son." 


	2. Deux

Jack Sparrow, sorry, Captain Sparrow, was shocked at the mans statement. No son? How could he have no son? No woman could run a ship like that. 'Well, that would explain why she's here all beat up.' he thought. Gibbs was absolutely disappointed. It's bad luck to have a woman on board period. Let alone captain a ship! He must be joking. No sailor in his right mind would take orders from some female, Captain or not.  
  
Anthony led the group away from the ship and across the island. Sure enough, among a group of men building up a fire and searching for wood, there was a woman. She was doing nothing, not sur[rising to Gibbs. She was sitting on her ass doing nothing. "She sits there as the men do all the work, typical." Gibbs muttered under his breath. Anamaria heard him and punched his arm. Anthony had also heard him.  
  
"Watch yourself, man. I will guaruntee that my daughter is a harder worker than you could ever hope to be. When the Widow hit shore, she was thrown overboard. Not into the water, either. She hit hard ground. She didn't move or wake up for two days. She has been working on the Widow since the day she woke up, I had to pry her off and tell her to sit down and rest. Don't you dare mention anything about her being typical." the offended father defended.  
  
"What's her name, sailor?" Jack asked.  
  
"Stephanie. *Captain* Stephanie Gillis." Anthony smirked at Gibbs who rolled his eyes.  
  
At that moment, Stephanie stood up. She had been taking a break from fixing the Widow, and in her mind, she was done. She walked towards the group, not seeing them right away. Jack was surprised. She did not tread softly and gracefully like most women. She was storming her way across with island with authority. Her facial features looked as if they were set in stone. She was dark complected, from always being in the sun, she was young, it was clear, but she already had a few frown lines on her face, from a constant serious expression. Her hazel eyes were harsh and cold, but not emotionless, they screamed anger and frustration at the recent events in her life. Her dirty blonde hair had grown to mid back and was unbrushed. He admitted she did look the part of a pirate.  
  
When she noticed them, she stopped in her tracks. She looked each of them up and down, analyzing them as she did so. "Who are they?" she demanded of her father. Her accent was much more like that of a pirate than that of her father.  
  
"The Captain and crew of the Black Pearl, Captain." Jack could see that the man loathed calling his daughter that, but he did so anyway.  
  
She resumed her pace until she reached them, where she stopped, still facing them, about 2 feet away. "And what business have they here?"  
  
"Well, lass, we've come to bargain. Savvy?" Jack explained, slapping on the grins and as much charm as possible as he drunkenly swayed.  
  
Stephanie started walking again and barreled right through the group and on her way towards the ship. Before she was far away, she turned, "It's Captain, not lass, and we're not int'rested. We'll handle it ourselves."  
  
Jack quickly strutted to her and went infront of her to block her route. As if she had been expecting it, she walked around him without so much as slowing her pace. He kept in stride with her, though and started to speak, "We have room on the Pearl for you and your crew."  
  
"Not int'rested. I'd slice my eyes out before I'd take orders from the likes of you." she eyed him as she spoke.  
  
"And what's wrng with the likes of me? Don't forget that I'm no different from the likes of you, well, I may or may not drink more... I could've sailed right past you and left you all to die, but I'm a good man... it was said when they almost hung me one time... good story..." Jack rambled.  
  
Stephanie stopped and whirled herself around to face this... annoying man, "Well, go tell your story to someone else because I don't care to hear it. Savvy?"  
  
"Oh, but it's a really good story, you see, I didn't even really do anything wrong.." he contnued.  
  
"Oh, do you ever bloody well shut up!" Stephanie shouted.  
  
Jack temporarily stopped talking, but quickly continued, "Oh, but luv, we aren't even really at the good part yet, see, then I said 'You will always remember this as the day...' well, I can't really remember what I said. I was drunk, see."  
  
"Drunk? Not you!" Stephanie said in mock shock. Jack went to answer her but she wouldn't let him. She slapped her hand over his mouth. "Don't. Say. A word." she threatened, but didn't remove her hand. Suddenly, she pulled her hand away and wiped it on her pant leg. "You licked me!" she exclaimed in disgust.  
  
Jack smirked drunkenly, "Did you like it?" 


	3. Trois

Stephanie looked at the man before her, irate and disbelieving. He did *not* just lick her! But, he did. And he was taunting her! In all of what was going on, she decided to let her anger get the best of her. She stormed over to him and took her open hand, instinctively, Jack went to protect his face, however, he should have been protecting a lower area, because Stephanie took her hand and grabbed a tight hold of his genitals. He gasped in pain and opened his mouth wide. There was no possible way for him to get out of this one.  
  
"If you promise me that you'll *shut up*, I'll go on your bleeding ship, I'll take your orders and all that. But you might wanna keep him," she indicated at her handful, "under control. Or I promise you, I'll cut him off. Savvy?"  
  
Jack's eyes got wide in shock and horror at the threat, no longer sure if he wanted the tempermental lady captain on the same boat, island or planet as he, but he nodded in agreement anyway. Before she let go, she gave one final hard squeeze to drive her point into him. She then let go and walked away. Leaving a relieved, very shocked, Jack.  
  
"Bloody women!" He shouted, "You could've warned me, y'know!" he yelled after her. She shrugged with a cocky smirk and kept walking.  
  
Her and her father walked to meet each other, "What was that all about, Captain?" Anthony asked.  
  
Stephanie shrugged, "We've reached an understandin', we'll be goin' on the Black Pearl. Men! Stop your work. I'm afraid all the patching up in the world couldn't save the Widow now. We'll 'afta leave her behind." she said sadly. "Prepare to board the Black Pearl!" she ordered and walked to her ship. She got on board and went to her cabin for what would be the last time.  
  
She looked around the quarters she had become so comfortable with over the past 9 years. The ship she had Captained since the young age of 19. There was no place she had ever felt so at home. No place she ever could. These four walls had been everything to her and now she had to say goodbye to them forever. She took her bag out from under her small bed and set it on top. It had never been used since she had first decided to call the Widow home. She began to put her things into the bag. All of it fit perfectly. Even with some room to spare. She never needed much, she had the Widow. Not anymore.  
  
Now, she had to board the perfect double of her own ship. The Black Pearl. She had to take orders from her Captain. She was now a Captain without a ship, and therefore not a Captain at all. She knew she would die if she stayed on the island. She had to accept Jack Sparrow's offer. It didn't matter. Her once fiery spirit had died with the Widow. She would tolerate Jack Sparrows drunken rambles and arrogant grin. But only until they got to a port. Then she would leave the Pearl and the sea altogether. She would never look back unless she found herself a worthy ship and just as worthy a crew. In other words, never.  
  
With all her things in hand, she left the Widow. Jack Sparrow was waiting there for her on land. She rolled her eyes. This was the man she would be taking her orders from for God knows how long. She looked at him with cold eyes. "I know it's hard, love, to bid farewell to your ship. Done it meself once or twice."  
  
Stephanie walked impatiently past him, "I *really* don't care to hear your tales of loss because you clearly now have your ship. I never will again."  
  
Jack shrugged and fell into step with her, which was quite hard for him seeing as he was half drunk and she was walking faster than he was talking. "You know, you're probably right. But, we have rum on the Pearl to help you forget about it."  
  
Stephanie shook her head and looked at him, "I *really* hope that you do something to piss me off."  
  
Jack grinned, "Thank you! There's hope for ol' Jack afterall then."  
  
Stephanie got in the small boat that would take her to her new Hell, followed closely by her new Satan, "You'd best have a lot of rum... Where's Anthony?" she looked around, wondering if he had already boarded the Pearl.  
  
"You mean your father? He's over there already. Why? Is he a drinker? Are you worried that the rum will be gone by the time you get over there?" Jack managed to slur.  
  
Stephanie ignored the majority of his words, but replied to the first question, "My father? I imagine he told you we were close, is that it?"  
  
"He didn't tell me much, to be honest." Jack admitted.  
  
"That's probably a good thing, it'd only confuse you," Stephanie attempted an insult as they drew nearer to the Pearl.  
  
"Well, love, I guess it's a good thing that one of us is lookin' out for me well being," he said stupidly. "Here we are. The Black Pearl." 


	4. Quatre

Stephanie and the others who had been on the small boat boarded the Black Pearl. Stephanie looked around in shock. This was the Widow. Through and through. She couldn't believe how identical they were. She put her hand on the side and closed her eyes. Momentarily, she was on the Widow. Captain, as always, with her loyal crew. She was pulled unwillingly out of her fantasy world by the real Captain, Jack Sparrow.  
  
"Lovely, in't she?" he stated. "Takes me anywhere I wanna go and everywhere I've already been. Well, except for when Barbossa stole her, then I got by with the ships I stole and the rum I drank, but that's another story."  
  
"Aye, she's a beauteous as the Widow," Stephanie said almost kindly, but changed her tone quickly, "But you can save your stories for someone who wants to hear them. Where do I put me things?"  
  
"Anamaria!" Jack shouted. The woman took her time, but was soon before Jack and Stephanie. "Stephanie, this is Anamaria, your new bunkmate. Anamaria, take Stephanie down below. She'll be sharin' a cabin with you."  
  
Anamaria looked relieved. Finally, another woman on the Pearl. She never thought she'd see the day, "Aye, Captain. Come with me." Anamaria led Stephanie down below the deck and into a small cabin. There were two beds and one set of drawers crammed into the small space. "There'll be plenty-a room for your things. My own barely take up half the drawers. Your bunk's on the left."  
  
Stephanie set her bag on her bed and looked around at her new quarters, "Lovely," she sighed under her breath. She then smiled half- heartedly at Anamaria. She, too, was glad to be able to have the company of a woman for once. It would be much different than the blokes she was used to, "Thank you." Anamaria smiled back and left to go back up.  
  
Stephanie began the short process of unpacking her clothes and few items and putting them into the drawers she found to be empty. Just as she was finishing up, the door to her cabin opened and Anthony popped his head in, "How are you holding up, Captain?"  
  
Stephanie closed her eyes and sighed, "I'm not Captain of this ship, Anthony. Nor any ship besides the Widow," she reminded him.  
  
"Yes... of course... How are you doing, Stephanie?" He smiled broadly. It had been so long since he had been able to call his daughter by the name he had given her. She had been 'Captain' to him ever since she allowed him to board her ship 4 years ago.  
  
Stephanie shrugged, "I've been worse, Anthony. For the most part, I'm healthy."  
  
"That's not exactly the question I was asking," he told her.  
  
"I know. I plan to get off at the next Port. I don't wish to ever look towards the sea after what happened to the Widow. And I don't wish for you to come with me." she explained harshly.  
  
Anthony looked down, all traces of a smile vanished from his face, "Right, then. I'll just... Right..." he left her there and closed the door behind him. When she was sure he was gone, she threw her bag at the door. She sat herself roughly down onto the bed. She put her elbows on her knees and shoved her hands through her knotted hair, not even noticing the pain caused by the strands that tore out of her head. As much as she wanted to, she refused to cry. She had wasted too much time crying over the man she once called her father already.  
  
'How can he act like everything's normal between us?' she thought. 'Has he forgotten everything he put me through? Everything he put my mother through?' She let the thoughts roll through her head, but they never escaped her mouth. She remembered the times when they were a family. She was maybe 5 or 6. Her parents were so happy then. So was she. But then, her father discovered taverns and whores. All the happiness they had known disappeared when he came home one night drunk. She remembered hearing her parents screaming at one another, and ran out of her room when the screaming arguement turned simply intp her mother screaming. Crying out in pain. Crying for help that an 8 year old daughter could not give her.  
  
She remembered the look in her fathers eyes as he brought his hand down upon her mother time and time again. And she also remembered the look in his eyes when he saw her watching from the top of the stairs. The look of rage in his eyes as he lept at her and repeated the same painful beating on her which he had placed upon her mother. She remembered this night, and every night like this. Though there were too many to keep track of, she never forgot the pain. Not to mention the talent he had given to her. The talent that should anyone cross her in any way, or should she think that anyone has, she could just resort to violence. Beat the same sort of sense into them that her father had beaten into her.  
  
And always she said the same thing, when asked why she felt the need to be so violent, it was always the same response, "It runs in the family," she whispered to herself, as she had to others so many times before. 


	5. Cinq

Stephanie stayed in her new room for over an hour without interuption. After about 20 minutes of thinking about her past, she let her tears flow freely. Not for long, only a few minutes, but enough to streak and redden her face. It wasn't long before the last person she wanted to see had come looking for her. Captain Jack Sparrow opened the door to her room and poked his head in. He saw her sitting there, face red, tear stains on her face. It's not a sight he was used to seeing on the Pearl.  
  
"Oh, sad moment," he said stupidly. "Right, I'll leave you to it then." he nodded and left, carful to close the door behind him.  
  
"Stupid male," Stephanie said with a shake of her head.  
  
The door quickly opened again and there he was again, "Is there, uh, something..." he almost kindly tried to offer.  
  
Stephanie shook her head, "I'm fine. You go. Find your rum. Drink it. Fun, fun, fun." she said unenthusiastically.  
  
A fond smile came to Jack's face, as if he were remembering old memories, happy ones, "Ah, yes. Rum... I'll be off to it, then." another nod, and he was once again gone. Stephanie was glad. She wasn't exactly in the mood to have him here, fumbling around trying to be sensitive. It would be a whole new level of pathetic she just wasn't ready for.  
  
*****  
  
Anthony was sitting on deck, talking with Gibbs. Not about anything in particular. This and that, awkward conversation. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see the grinning face of Captain Sparrow, "Is there something I can help you with, Captain?" he asked.  
  
Jack nodded, "Indeed you can, old man. Come drink with me. Plenty of rum for you and I. We should talk."  
  
Anthony agreed and followed the Captain below deck to his cabin to drink the Captains favorite beverage. "So, what is it you wanted to talk about, then?"  
  
Jack took a swig from the bottle in his hand, "Oh, right, talk... AH, Yes, I remember. Stephanie."  
  
Anthony looked curiously at Jack, "What about her? Is everything alright?"  
  
Jack thought a moment, "Yeah, I suppose. She's an odd girl. Grabbed me down there," he pointed down, "And not in the happy fun way, either."  
  
"And why are you telling me this?" Anthony was confused.  
  
"Oh, right, the real thing I wanted to know is.. Well... Why doesn't she call you 'dad?'" Jack inquired. "Are you not sure?"  
  
Anthony shot Jack a suspicious glance and took a drink from his bottle, "And what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
Jack shrugged, "Well, you know... Maybe your not her father," Jack stood up, bottle in hand, and motioned for Anthony to follow. They started up above deck, "Maybe someone else is responsible for her. You never know who your wife could have done the deed with..." Jack trailed off at the angry glare he recieved from Anthony. "Right, then... I think I should go now..." In a matter of seconds, Jack had disappeared back down below deck. Leaving Anthony with his rum and his anger.  
  
*****  
  
The day past by at a relatively fast pace. Not a lot happened. Nothing out of the ordinary. Stephanie eventually got to feeling better and came back up out of her room. She was talking to Anamaria. She liked her. They could definitely come to be good friends. It was different, talking to a woman on the crew with her as opposed to talking to a man who worked on the crew under her. It was good company.  
  
"What was it like, Stephanie? Being the Captain of a ship? A ship like that... I can't even imagine." Anamaria asked her new friend.  
  
Stephanie shrugged and took a sip of the rum she and Anamaria had gotten a hold of, "It was everything to me. But, it is no more. It really was no different for me being the Captain of the Widow than it is for Captain Sparrow being the Captain of the Pearl. I drink less, I think less of sex, but it is basically the same grounds."  
  
Anamaria chuckled, "I would think of you as a much different Captain than Sparrow."  
  
Stephanie leaned back on the side and looked inquisitively at Anamaria, "How do you figure?"  
  
Anamaria tiled her head to look directly at Stephanie, "You're joking, right? You have a much more level head than Sparrow."  
  
Stephanie grinned, "Well, yeah, but like I said, I drink significantly less than he does."  
  
"*Everyone* drinks significantly less than he does," Anamaria informed her.  
  
Jack appeared at that point in the conversation, "Right you are, lass, right you are," he agreed. "But, you two seem to be catching up tonight. Anamaria, give me a moment alone with the new lass, savvy?"  
  
"Aye, Captain," she nodded at Jack, smiled at Stephanie and went below deck.  
  
"So, what do you think of her?" Jack asked.  
  
Stephanie again shrugged, "She's nice, for a pirate. Actually, too nice for a pirate."  
  
Jack looked at Stephanie, confusion all over his face, "What? Oh, no, not Anamaria... The Pearl. What do you think of the Black pearl?" he slurred.  
  
Stephanie took a quick glance around the ship, "Well, she's the same as the Widow. I can't help but think much of her."  
  
Jack nodded before completely changing the subject, "Right... You know, in this light, love, you're quite the attractive woman."  
  
Stephanie didn't so much as glance his way as she answered, "Yeah, and in your drunken state, it would be very easy for me to cut your balls off."  
  
Jack winced at the mere thought, and remembered her threat from earlier that day, "You're probably right... I'll wait 'til I'm sober, then." he finished off his rum and went below deck.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, Jack awoke and went above to find Stephanie and Anamaria playing cards, each with an empty bottle of rum. "Thirsty, loves?" he grinned.  
  
Stephanie smiled knowingly and mischieviously at Anamaria, "Well, we were. But, we need more rum, Captain."  
  
Jack looked at her in shock and almost horror, "What? What happened to the rum we had?"  
  
"Well, Gibbs had some, so did a few of the other guys, and Anamaria and myself took the two bottles that were left."  
  
Jack took one of the empty bottles from the table the girls were playing on. He turned it upside down over his open mouth and not a drop hit his tongue. "All the rum's gone!"  
  
Stephanie laughed, "Don't panic. You had most of it gone already. We can get more in two days. It's not the end of the world." Anamaria was laughing hard at this point.  
  
"Well, it's the end of my rum-drinking world!" Jack reminded the two.  
  
"Surely you can survive two days?" Anamaria asked.  
  
"It's gonna be bloody hard!" Jack exclaimed. He pointed at Stephanie "My rum's been the only thing keeping her from driving me crazy!" he stormed off in a huff, leaving the two girls laughing out loud at their scheme, and at the fact that they had 7 bottles of rum stashed under the beds in their room. 


	6. Six

That night, Stephanie and Anamaria sat on their beds, already have drunk, and drinking yet more rum. They were talking and laughing over the fact that they had taken the rum from their dear Captain and conversation got a bit more serious, for Stephanie, anyway.  
  
"What's the problem with you and Anthony? It always seems so cold between you two," Anamaria asked innocently.  
  
Stephanie's face, which had been a broad smile, fell into a cloudy frown, "To be honest, he just wasn't there for me as a kid. And when he was.... I wished he wasn't."  
  
Anamaria, even in her drunken state, could read Stephanies features well enough to know what she was talking about. It wasn't that far off from her childhood, "My dad hit too," she confessed. "It made me who I am today. Be that good or bad, I don't know. But you're stronger than I am, if I were to have seen my father again, I'd have killed him."  
  
"Believe me, I wanted to. But I decided to do him worse. The first time I saw him since I ran away when I was 18, was 4 years ago. I was 24. He was a changed man. He said so, anyway. I agreed to allow him to board my ship if he forgot the fact that I was his daughter. I was to be nothing more than Captain to him from then on. Now... to him and all I'm Stephanie," she said in a disgusted tone. "But, then, I was in control. Just like he had done to me, if he didn't take orders, if he didn't listen to every word I said, he got kicked to the ground. Not always by me. Sometimes I'd order the men who actually listened to do it. Never to death, obviously, because he never granted me that privilege."  
  
Anamaria took another sip of rum, "I'm... sorry... Shall we change the subject?" she asked desperately. "I must know if it's true that you threatened to... well... cut off the Captain's balls?" she asked, now back to her drunken giggling.  
  
Stephanie swigged some more from her bottle, "Oh, yes, twice actually. It was bloody hilarious, if you could've seen his face!"  
  
At that moment, the door flung open. The girls quickly hid the rum behind them where the person who entered wouldn't be able to see. Luckily, too, because it was Captain Jack Sparrow, "What's all the ruckus?" he growled.  
  
"Oh... Just girlish ramblings, Captain, did we wake you?" Stephanie snorted, unable to hide her laughter or drunkeness.  
  
Jack sniffed the air, "What do I smell?"  
  
"Well, with all respect due, Captain, nothing smelled in here before you entered," Anamaria laughed.  
  
"No, that's rum!" His eyes widened. "I smell rum! Where is it?" he began to walk towards them.  
  
"Okay, okay, we stashed... 3 bottles of rum," Stephanie lied. She pulled out a third bottle and handed it to the Captain. "Here, you can have one. We were honestly thinking of you when we did this, Cappy, really. If we had left it there, the other men would have dranken it."  
  
Jack suspiciously opened the bottle and took a swig. His suspicious look turned to one of glee and he flopped down next to Anamaria on her bed, "It is rum!" he said exceitedly.  
  
"Yes, very good, drink up, Sparrow," Stephanie ordered.  
  
"*Captain* Sparrow," he corrected before taking another long swig.  
  
"I don't care who you are, just drink the bloody rum!" Anamaria said as she pushed upwards on the bottom of his bottle, causing him to drink even more, not that he minded.  
  
*****  
  
Stephanie was the first to awake the next morning. She looked at the bed and Anamaria was sleeping crookedly there. Captain Jack must have left earlier. She found out otherwise when she swung her feet down off the bed. He was on the floor between the two beds. Passed out drunk. She stood up on his back. He didn't wake up. She shrugged and put a little more weight on him. Still, he didn't wake up. She jumped and he hollered out, waking Anamaria.  
  
"What that bloody hell are you doing?!" he demanded, feeling the morning effects of the rum. As were the two women.  
  
Stephanie walked off the Captain satisfied, "Sorry, Captain, didn't see you there."  
  
She brought a hand up to her head and moaned. Great. Hangover of the century. She pulled her long, tangled, dirty blonde hair back out of her face and tied it back into a pony tail with a rag/scarf thing before heading above deck for some air. When she had been up there for about two minutes with some of her old crew, Anamaria and Jack appeared as well. Equally as hung over as she.  
  
"Who are these mates? Didn't ask all your names, therefore I don't know who you are," Jack explained foolishly.  
  
"This one here's Tully," Stephanie pointed at a scrawney red-headed man who looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. He waved weakly, "And this is his brother, Khol," Khol was the exact opposite of Tully. A big man with very dark hair. Jack thought he must have eaten all of Tully's meals. "This one here was always me right hand man, Macky. Call him Mac if you want. He doesn't much care." Macky was large. Tall and muscular with blond hair. Much the same color of Stephanie's. Intimidating. He had to be dangerous. But he smiled politely and nodded a greeting. "Just don't touch him, it makes him nervous. He's violent when he's nervous.," Stephanie warned with a pat to Macky's back. "I don't make him nervous."  
  
Jack shook his head, "Well, she's obviously never threatened to tear off your little friends, then, because that'd make any man nervous." 


	7. Sept

Another day had passed. Anamaria and Stephanie were, once again, filling themselves with rum. They had 4 bottles left. As much as they tried to keep quiet, in the state they were in, it was a near impossibility. One of them would say something that the other found funny and they would both erupt in loud, drunken giggles. It wasn't long before the Captain heard them.  
  
Jack threw the door open, "You have more rum, don't you?!" He bellowed.  
  
Stephanie snickered loudly and pointed at him, "You should see your fuggin' face, Cap, it's priceless. You look so mad!" she burst out in a drunken fit of laughter again.  
  
"We only have one more bottle, Cap'n," Anamaria lied, holding out the third of the four bottles and leaving the other under her bed. "You can have it."  
  
He took the rum from her, "You stole me rum! I knew there was more!"  
  
"You had no fuggin' clue! You shoulda seen your face!" said Stephanie, still laughing. "I'm fuggin' hungry, Jack-o, what ya say that you drink that rum and we go get someth'n ta eat?" she was slurring worse than Jack usually did.  
  
"Right, then," Jack took a swig of his rum. "We'll get some food. But, it's, uh, Captain Jack-o to you." he reminded her.  
  
Stephanie stood up and tried to compose herself, but wound up in another fit of laughter, "Captain Jack-o!" she giggled. She stumbled over to him and threw an arm drunkenly over his shoulders. "Y'know, Cappy, that funny words make me like you! I'm gonna call you Cappy Jack-o from now on, buddy." she smirked before letting go of him and drunkenly finding her way to the door. "I'll be back with some food."  
  
Jack watched her, slightly amused and slightly confused at her actions, "Funny little drunk, in't she?" he said to Anamaria, but she had already passed out asleep on the bed. He decided to follow Stephanie, but just as he went t leave the door, she pounded her way back in. She had apples, grapes and a whole loaf of bread.  
  
"I found some food!" she threw the supplies on her bed and then laughed at Anamaria sleeping in her own. Her eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh! I almost forgot!" she flopped down on her stomach on her bed and reached under Anamaria's for the last bottle of rum. "My drink!"  
  
Jack looked at her in shock, "Your- MY drink!"  
  
"No, you have yours there. This one's mine. Ask anyone." Stephanie explained.  
  
"No, my bottles empty! Gimme that one!" he demanded.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Give it to me!"  
  
"It's mine!"  
  
"Give it to me or take a dive!" Jack threatened.  
  
Stephanie sobered up slightly, not much, to inform him of one thing, "Sure thing, Cap, I'll take a dive. But I'll be takin' two things with me. One; your testicles. And two; THIS bottle of rum!"  
  
Jack shook his head, "Alright, we'll share it,"  
  
She rolled her eyes, "Fine, I guess that'll do," she sat up on her bed and opened the bottle, taking a swig. She held the bottle out to Jack. He staggered over to her bed and took the bottle, sitting next to her as he did so. Naturally, conversation struck as they passed the bottle back and forth.  
  
"So, I heard you plan to leave the Pearl at next port?" Jack inquired.  
  
Stephanie shrugged, " Was thinkin' 'bout it. Not so sure, though. She's so much like the Widow."  
  
Jack found himself slightly relieved that Stephanie wasn't sure what she was doing. She was a great help around the ship. She knew what she was doing. But, he changed the subject anyway, "What's that ring?" he indicated the ring on her right index finger.  
  
Stephanie looked fondly down at it. It was a large silverish ring. Very dark, and very dirty. It was just a band with Celtic designs engraved around it. She traced one of the designs with a fingernail, "This was my mothers."  
  
Jack looked closer at it, "Generous gift. It couldn't have been cheap."  
  
Stephanie shrugged and took another swig of the rum, "I dunno. It wasn't a gift. I took it from her finger at her funeral."  
  
"From your own mother?" Jack sounded more surprised than he was.  
  
"She wanted me to have it. Da- Anthony wouldn't let me have it after after she died. But she wanted to give it to me. She told me so. So, I took it. And afterwards I ran. I left my house. I left my town. I left. I've not ever gone back there." Stephanie was opening herself up in her drunken state. Jack was slightly shocked at this. He wasn't sure what to say. She didn't give him an opportunity to try, "Well, you can finish the rest. I've reached me fill," she laid down on the bed. "I'm gonna get some rest. Work to do tomorrow. Night, Captain Jack-o."  
  
Jack took the bottle and walked to the door to leave, "G'night... Cap'n... Stephan....-O," 


End file.
